Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine. Everything I do with them is therefore not mine to make money off of. I will return Maura and Jane back to TNT in their rightful spots after I'm finished.
A/N - Welcome to the third installment of the Boston series. This story has been a long time coming. After several months of procrastinating, here it is, ready to be read. And with no further ado, I'm going to stop rambling and let the story take the stage. Have fun. :)
"I don't know about this, Maura," Jane Rizzoli muttered with apprehension as she caught an image of herself in the full length mirror of the opulent fitting room. As she moved slightly in the long black sleeveless gown, her glove covered hands continued to play at the small elegant bow tied around her chest. A slight breeze of cool air upon Jane's bare shoulders caused an unexpected shiver to ripple through her slim frame but this reaction was partly because of the unfamiliar vision of her own femininity reflected in the mirror. Jane had never worn a dress this luxurious.
Jane turned back to Maura's eager face, eyebrows raised. "I look stupid wearing something like this."
"What are you talking about?" Maura replied, shaking her head in amazement. "No matter how many times I repeat how gorgeous you are, you just don't get it." With long strides, Maura moved from the mountain of clothes their shopping assistant had carefully hung up to embrace her. "Jane. You are so beautiful. Anything you put on will look utterly magnificent and far from stupid, my friend."
A shocked sigh forced itself from Jane's lips as Maura's hands travelled up from her waist, playfully fixing the bow at her chest while managing to tease her exposed skin. Against her will, she moved against Maura, trying in vain to find any kind of contact but the effort resulted in failure. Maura's hands continued to allude where she most wanted them.
"Maura…" Jane growled in warning.
Smiling against Jane's neck, Maura lowered her hands, giving her some much needed relief. Opening eyes she hadn't even realized were shut, Jane saw the blonde's playful hazel eyes staring back at her from the mirror. "And you say I get worked up easily?" Maura asked flirtatiously.
Jane rolled her eyes, smirking at Maura's smugness. "Shut-up. I already feel weird having to go to our coming-out party wearing this. Can't we just have it at the house? Your family, my family, couple of friends, ranch dip, and some chips. Now that's a party."
"How many times have I told you? My mother has been planning this party for months. I think she's looking forward to this announcement more than we are, I've been talking about it for so long." Releasing Jane, Maura sat down on the small couch next to Jane, ignoring the taller woman's puppy-dog eyes. "Stop it, Jane. We talked about this, several times. You're way too busy being Wonder Woman to plan a party and I've never been as good as my mother when it comes to planning formal get-togethers."
"And that's my point," Jane exclaimed, turning to face Maura. "Why does this have to be formal event? Telling everyone that we're in a relationship shouldn't require a dress code, Maura. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned but this is our business, not hers. Constance should respect that. I mean, come on, Maura. She's having it at her house. It might as well be her party that we're attending."
"She does respect us. This is just…" Maura broke off, looking down at her fidgeting hands. "This is just her way of getting involved with my life. Yes, I should have reined her in a little bit when it came to her insisting the party have a white-tie dress code but she seemed so happy to help out that I couldn't bear to tell her that not everyone owns a tailcoat and a top hat. But, on a positive note, she got my dad to agree to come back early from his zoological expedition of the Pan paniscus in the Congo."
Jane's face crinkled in confusion. "Pan paniwhat? Isn't your father a professor? What's he doing in the Congo?" she asked dismissively, her mind focusing on how to take off the beautiful gown.
Maura stood up from her seat to stop Jane's movements. She extended her hands to help Jane shed the dress from her body. "The Pan paniscus, sweetheart," Jane's blank look of confusion gave the blonde slight pause before continuing, "Oh…I'm sorry. I keep forgetting that Latin wasn't a mandatory course for most children. It's the bonobo, a smaller relative of the chimpanzee. My father is a professor, but he frequently likes to go on sabbatical to do in-field research. He prefers research over his professorial duties but his tenure requires him to teach a couple of upper-level classes on occasion. That's actually how he met my mother. She saw him sketching some gorillas on a napkin and fell in love with his 'little doodles' as she called them. I can't believe I've never told you that before. I bet I did and you just weren't listening. You never listen to me."
"For someone so reserved, Constance sounds awfully romantic," Jane muttered. "I can't wait to meet him. If he's anything like you, though, I might regret that sentiment." Her thought interrupted by Maura's playful tug of her long brown locks, releasing a yip of surprise from the taller woman. "Hey! Play nice. I was just thinking out loud."
"Well don't. Remember last time you thought out loud? You said I couldn't do that thing with my tongue and I promptly proved you wrong, multiple times? Do you really want that to happen again, Jane?" Maura asked with mock seriousness, raising an eyebrow suggestively.
With Maura's help the dress fell from the other woman's body. Jane breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped out of its expensive confines, allowing Maura to start hanging the dress back up. "Huh…well, if we're going to go there with it… Do you want me to send everyone on your mailing list that video of you at the Christmas party last year looking very undoctorly? Because, last time I checked, dancing on tables with a glass of eggnog while singing Madonna's 'Deeper and Deeper' and 'Into The Groove' off-key in every conceivable way isn't something a doctor would like others to see."
Maura whipped her head away from her task, annoyance plainly evident on her face as Jane winked playfully.
"I told you to delete that."
"How could I? Watching you live out your college Spring Break dreams over and over again is just too much fun," Jane said, taking off the matching gloves and throwing them at her girlfriend. "Am I done trying on clothes? We've been here all day, Maura. I'm hungry. I didn't get to eat breakfast because a certain nerd insisted on getting some early morning sex in." Grabbing her ratty old jeans and Led Zeppelin t-shirt, Jane started to redress. "Listen, Maura, I don't have a problem with your newfound sexuality but c'mon. Give a girl a break. If you keep insisting on making love with the rise of the sun every-day, you're going to have to let me buy some Pop-Tarts or Toaster Strudel for the house. I'm running on empty here."
Before Maura could give a witty reply, the two women were interrupted by the unobtrusive cough of Eric, Maura's personal shopping assistant. Jane immediately stepped between him and her girlfriend.
The small man was hardly rude to them, but Jane still found him a little disconcerting. He seemed to be studying for the role of a ghost. Everything he did was just enough to be considered helpful yet still completely inhuman.
Despite her own personal issues with the assistant, Maura obviously saw something in Eric since every time she requested new clothes and shoes from the top designers he would insist on making himself available for her fitting. His pink and lime-green polka-dot collared shirt seemed to insist that he was gay, but Jane still felt the familiar twangs of jealousy brewing in the deepest realms of her soul.
As of late, this was becoming a running problem. Jane knew that Maura loved her but she couldn't stop the niggling in her heart telling her to be on the look-out for a threat that was surely lurking on the horizon. Anything and everything was proving to fit that description, including a man that was half her height and probably liked other men.
Jane just couldn't understand it. A woman as perfect as Maura could be with anyone yet the fact that she had chosen to be with her – the eldest daughter of an Italian plumber – seemed to be the stuff of Disney movies. It just seemed improbable especially after everything she had done to hurt Maura.
Normally, Jane would have addressed her insecurities during one of their newly established weekly discussion dates. With their hectic schedules, they both reveled in having alone time to talk about whatever was on their minds that didn't include work. Jane had thought she knew Maura fairly well, but after learning that she used to be the mascot – a black knight – for her boarding school, Jane realized that she didn't really know that much about Maura. Making it her main objective to learn everything about the blonde, Jane worked that much harder during the week to ensure that her schedule was free for their time together.
If there was one thing Jane had learned about Maura it was that they weren't really all that different. That's what made them such great friends and great lovers. But that was also what made discussing her problems so much more difficult. If Maura told her that she was jealous of Frost because he was a potential risk to their relationship, Jane would hardly take it seriously. If Maura was flippant with her feelings… She didn't think she would be able to take it. So for now, Jane repressed her insecurities or attempted to, at least.
Returning her focus back to the young man chatting with Maura, Jane eyed the gown she had tried on which was now in the man's hands. "How much does that dress cost? I'm only prepared to spend three-hundred."
Eric's eyebrows shot up in confusion as he looked at both Maura and Jane apprehensively. "Well…this particular piece is a signature evening gown from the Ralph Lauren Fall collection. All pieces are custom fitted to the wearer so that is an extra surcharge…" Grabbing a small note pad with numbers and scribbles inside, the assistant began tallying up the numbers. "Because of your slim figure, we won't have to get excessive with the tailoring cost. In total – including the fitting, dress, accessories, and the Ferragamos – the price will come up to $3865.78, give or take with sales tax." Jane's eyes nearly shot out of her head in surprise as he turned back to Maura with a frown. "But I was under the impression she was your guest, Maura. If Ms. Rizzoli isn't your guest, we'll have to do some paperwork before she can purchase. We've been having problems with people buying pieces and trying to return them like this is," the small man shuddered slightly, "Target. I thought everyone knew that you can't return a custom fitted Marc Jacobs jacket from last season. If that was the case I'd be returning my lime-green and fuchsia skinnys as soon as fall hits."
"Oh, be nice. Jane's with me, Eric. She's just not used to letting someone else take care of her for a change," Maura said happily, poking Jane slightly to encourage her to close her mouth. "Put the dress along with all of the trimmings on my tab along with the Oscar de la Renta and those fabulous Giuseppe Zanottis. God knows I don't need any more shoes but-"
"You can never have enough shoes," he interrupted with a smile, taking the long gown toward a small keeper rack where a shiny silver gown also resided. "Did you like the Zac Posen trousers? The pinstripe hasn't been selling as well as the tweed but I think that's just because everyone is getting tired of wearing black for fall."
Jane saw the look of brimming excitement on Maura's face and frowned. "No, no, no. Please, Maura. You said we could go to dinner after we tried on this last gown."
"And we will," Maura replied, "after you try on this last thing. Then we'll go and pick something up dinner. I know how much of a distraction I can be so I'll go wait outside."
With a big beaming smile, Maura exited the dressing room just as Jane's balled up t-shirt flew toward her head, barely managing to miss her head. She laughed as the telltale squeal of her girlfriend's annoyance echoed from inside the dressing room, presumably in response to Eric's unexpected poking and prodding. Jane hated being fitted more than she hated trying on clothes.
Leaning back against the wall of the dressing room, Maura lifted her hand to trace the smile that had hardly left her face in the last couple of months. It had been far too long for her to remember being this…happy? No, that was not the right word. The feeling was closer to contentment.
Maura had finally met her one and only, someone just for her, a soulmate.
Maura's mother had taught her the importance of meeting someone special. Constance had never directly stated it to her as a child but seeing how happy her mother was around her father had left an impression on Maura's young mind. As a child, Maura hated the love her mother had for her father because it frequently reaffirmed her own status as the third wheel orphan taken in by the rich couple with no child of their own. It was unbelievably hard on her to grow up feeling as if she didn't belong in the only family she had ever known. All of the achievements Maura had gained in her life were just lame attempts to fill the hole in her heart that had been growing since her childhood. Gold medals, diplomas, trophies… None of those things could come close to the perfection of being with Jane.
"Maura?" a familiar masculine voice asked, bringing Maura out of her thoughts. "Is that you? What are you doing here?"
The smile now gone, Maura looked up in surprise to see Lt. Col. Elias MacFarlane, the same man who had unwittingly caused Jane to admit her love for Maura. Despite his unwitting role in their relationship, Jane had never met nor showed any real interest in meeting him but Maura had always wondered what had happened to the charming man with the shocking auburn hair.
Jane temporarily forgotten, her eyes took in the still magnificent countenance of Elias MacFarlane. It had been more than half a year since she had seen him last but his bright blue eyes still flashed with the same boyish exuberance that had been present in their first meeting. The same reckless fetlock of red hair continued to wreak havoc upon his face yet, like always, Elias seemed unfazed as he stood before Maura with a pleasant smile. Despite the similarities, however, there was something different about the man that perked Maura's interest.
"MacFarlane…wow, it's been awhile. Jane and I are buying some evening wear for a formal get-together," she replied, standing up away from the wall. "What are you doing here?"
Elias looked away briefly before moving the large suit bag to his other shoulder, revealing the traditional camouflage fatigues of the armed forces. "My…father died unexpectedly, leaving me to deal with his estate," he said bitterly while his eyes roamed over Maura's body, bringing a flush to her cheeks. "You're still wonderfully beautiful, I see. No woman could ever compare."
"Stop it," Maura muttered bashfully, unable to look away from his eyes.
As her eyes searched his, Maura knew what was different. Underneath Elias's boyish charisma was sadness that rang familiar. Elias was hurting with the pain of being alone just as she had as a child. Seeing the normally proud and confident lieutenant in such misery brought a pang of empathy followed by an irrational want – no, need – to eliminate that sadness. An ache that had been lying dormant began to blossom in Maura's heart, fertilized by their shared loneliness.
After Jane had been sent to the hospital for a second time and all of the events that soon followed, she had little time to deal with her budding attraction for Elias. Jane had told Maura that she loved her. Her attraction to him hardly seemed relevant given the improbability of the young man coming back into her life yet here he was, stirring up the stew of emotions she'd forgotten about.
Maura gazed into the mysterious yet familiar blue eyes and pondered questions that developed faster than she could process: What if I had never met Jane? What if she had decided to reject my feelings toward her? Would I still be alone, waiting for someone to come along? Would Elias have loved me, cherished me, protected me like Jane? Would I have let him?
Unexpectedly, a muffled scream echoed from the dressing room behind Maura, "God, damn it! Enough is enough. There's no need for you to be sticking a ruler, speculum, or whatever that cold thingis up in that general area," Jane shouted, following a loud thump sound. "Back off little gay boy or I'm going to charge you with harassment or attempted rape."
The spell broken, Maura and Elias looked at the closed door of the fitting room in confusion.
With a small chuckle, Elias smiled before shifting his bag back onto his other shoulder with ease. "Sounds like Jane is breaking her shopping assistant virginity. Good for her. We all go through it at some point," he muttered sarcastically while checking his Rolex. "Well, look at the time… Me and my freshly bought suit are late for yet another appointment with my father's endless brigade of lawyers. It was really good to see you, Maura." Moving into her personal space, Elias lifted the blonde's hand to give her palm a brief kiss. Heat pooled into Maura's hand in response but before she had a chance to understand her reaction, Elias turned to leave. Please stay. I can't bear to see someone walk off in such pain, especially if I could have helped in some way to ease it. Don't go…
"Wait!" Maura exclaimed, reaching her hand out to stop Elias's movements to leave. "If you…need someone to talk to, about anything, you can call me. Here," she rummaged in her forgotten Hermes bag, pulling out a small piece of taupe cardstock, "take my card. It has my number and email. Or you could just stop by the morgue like last time."
"Thank you, Maura," he said bashfully with a small smile, pushing his wayward tuft of auburn hair out of his face.
But before she could wave him off, Jane's half-naked body exploded from the fitting room. Despite being half-naked, Jane's focus was elsewhere. Her crazed eyes searched for Maura in desperation, hardly noticing Elias walk away.
"We're done," Jane stated simply while zipping up her old jeans, watching the smirking face of the shopping assistant as he left the dressing room. The tension between the two of them was plainly obvious and Maura made a mental note to ask the annoyed woman what had happened after giving her plenty of time to cool off. Rolling her eyes, she moved to pay for the items with Eric, the shopping assistant, closely following behind on her heels with their purchases in hand. If there was one benefit to Jane's little spat in the dressing room it was that it gave Maura some much needed time to think.